How much can an Oregon landlord raise the rent?

No more than the maximum annual rent increase percentage the Oregon Department of Administrative Services publishes for that calendar year. ORS 90.324(1)(b) sets the maximum for an ordinary ORS 90.323 tenancy as the lesser of ten percent or seven percent plus CPI, where CPI is the September annual twelve-month average change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region, All Items, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The department must calculate and publish the following year's figure no later than September 30 each year. It published ten percent for 2025 and nine and one-half percent for 2026. Because seven plus CPI has run above ten, the ten percent ceiling has been the operative cap - which is why quoting only the seven-plus-CPI half of the formula is wrong.

When can an Oregon landlord raise the rent?

Not at all during the first year after the tenancy begins, not more than once in any twelve-month period, and after the first year only on at least ninety days written notice. A week-to-week tenancy takes seven days notice and is outside the percentage cap. The notice must state the amount of the increase, the amount of the new rent, the effective date, and any facts supporting an exemption. Those rules are in ORS 90.323(2) and (3).

Does Oregon require cause to end a tenancy?

Yes, after the first year of occupancy. ORS 90.427(3)(c) allows a landlord to end a month-to-month tenancy after the first year only for a tenant cause or for a qualifying landlord reason. During the first year a thirty-day no-cause notice is still available. First year of occupancy includes all periods in which any of the tenants has resided in the unit for one year or less, so a new fixed term signed by a sitting tenant does not restart it.

What are the qualifying landlord reasons to end an Oregon tenancy?

Four, each on at least ninety days written notice under ORS 90.427(5)(a): demolition or conversion to a non-residential use; repairs or renovations where the premises is or will be unsafe or unfit for occupancy; occupancy by the landlord or a member of the landlord's immediate family as a primary residence where the landlord owns no comparable available unit in the same building; or an accepted offer to purchase from a person who in good faith intends to occupy it as a primary residence, with written evidence served with the notice. The purchase ground alone may run on sixty days notice if the landlord also pays one month's rent at the time of the notice.

Does an Oregon landlord have to pay relocation money?

Yes, one month's periodic rent, paid at the time the termination notice is delivered, whenever the landlord terminates for a qualifying landlord reason under ORS 90.427(5). ORS 90.427(6)(b) exempts a landlord who has an ownership interest in four or fewer residential dwelling units subject to ORS chapter 90. Terminating in violation of these rules makes the landlord liable for three months rent in addition to actual damages, and gives the tenant a defence to a possession action.

How much can an Oregon landlord charge for a security deposit?

Oregon sets no statutory maximum. What ORS 90.300 regulates is timing and treatment: the written rental agreement must list the deposit, the landlord must give a receipt, no new or increased deposit may be required during the first year of the tenancy, at least three months must be allowed to pay one required after that, and no pet deposit may be charged for a service animal or companion animal a tenant with a disability requires as a reasonable accommodation.

How long does an Oregon landlord have to return a security deposit?

Thirty-one days, and it is two duties rather than one. Under ORS 90.300(12) the landlord must give a written accounting stating specifically the basis of any claim within 31 days after the tenancy terminates and the tenant delivers possession, with separate accountings for the security deposit and for prepaid rent. Under ORS 90.300(13) whatever is not claimed must be returned within the same 31 days. Failing either, or withholding in bad faith, costs the landlord twice the amount under ORS 90.300(16).

How much late fee can an Oregon landlord charge?

No late charge at all unless rent is unpaid on the fourth day of the rental period and the written lease specifies the obligation, the type, the amount and the dates. ORS 90.260(2) then allows exactly three forms: a reasonable flat amount once per rental period, meaning the customary amount for that rental market; a reasonable per-day amount from the fifth day that may not exceed six percent of that flat amount; or five percent of the periodic rent for each succeeding five-day period. Five percent is one option, not a cap on the total.

What fees can an Oregon landlord charge?

Only the fees ORS 90.302 allows, and only if the fee is described in a written rental agreement. No fee may be charged at the beginning of the tenancy for an anticipated landlord expense. Five per-occurrence fees are permitted: a late rent charge, a dishonored check charge under ORS 30.701(5) plus the bank's processing charge, an alarm tampering fee up to two hundred fifty dollars, a written pet agreement violation fee, and a fixed-term abandonment fee capped at one and one-half times the monthly rent. A separate second-noncompliance scheme allows a fee only after a written warning notice. Charging a fee in violation costs twice the tenant's actual damages or three hundred dollars, whichever is greater.

How much notice must an Oregon landlord give before entering?

At least twenty-four hours actual notice, and entry only at reasonable times, under ORS 90.322(1)(f) - and in the same paragraph the tenant may deny consent after receiving the notice, after which the landlord may not enter. An emergency entry needs no notice, but if it happens in the tenant's absence the landlord must give actual notice within twenty-four hours afterwards stating the fact, date and time of the entry, the nature of the emergency and the names of the people who entered. An unlawful entry costs the landlord actual damages of not less than one month's rent.

What notice comes before an Oregon eviction for unpaid rent?

Under ORS 90.394(2) the landlord chooses between at least ten days written notice served no sooner than the eighth day of the rental period, or at least thirteen days written notice served no sooner than the fifth day. A week-to-week tenancy takes seventy-two hours notice served no sooner than the fifth day. The notice must state the amount that must be paid and the date and time by which the tenant must pay to cure.

Which disclosures does an Oregon lease have to contain?

Ten under state law plus the federal lead-based paint disclosure for housing built before 1978. The smoking policy under ORS 90.220(4) and ORS 479.305 and the 100-year flood plain notice under ORS 90.228 must appear in the rental agreement itself. The manager and owner identification under ORS 90.305, any pending foreclosure or tax lien proceeding at four or fewer units under ORS 90.310, a utility the tenant pays that benefits others under ORS 90.315(2), how a billed utility charge is assessed and allocated under ORS 90.315(4), every fee under ORS 90.302(1), the smoke alarm testing instructions under ORS 479.270 with the hard-of-hearing notice under ORS 479.258, the carbon monoxide alarm testing instructions under ORS 90.317, and the recycling notice under ORS 90.318.

Does Oregon require a carbon monoxide alarm certification for a lease?

No. There is no Oregon carbon monoxide certification document for a tenancy. ORS 90.316 forbids a landlord to enter into a rental agreement creating a new tenancy in a unit containing a carbon monoxide source unless properly functioning alarms are installed when the tenant takes possession, and ORS 90.317(2) requires written testing instructions no later than when the tenant first takes possession. The certification idea is imported from ORS 105.838, which governs conveying fee title or transferring possession under a land sale contract, and whose remedy under ORS 105.840 belongs to a purchaser or transferee rather than a tenant.

Which lease clauses are prohibited in Oregon?

Four, under ORS 90.245(1): a waiver of rights or remedies under ORS chapter 90; an authorization to confess judgment; an exculpation or limitation of liability for the other party's willful misconduct or negligence, or an indemnity for it; and an agreement to pay liquidated damages, except the fixed-term abandonment fee ORS 90.302(2)(e) allows. Such a provision is unenforceable, and a landlord who deliberately uses a lease with a known prohibited provision and tries to enforce it owes the tenant actual damages plus up to three months periodic rent.

Can an Oregon lease make the tenant pay the landlord's attorney fees?

Not one-sidedly. ORS 90.255 awards reasonable attorney fees at trial and on appeal to the prevailing party, together with costs and necessary disbursements, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary. The entitlement comes from the statute, so a clause giving fees to the landlord alone is both ineffective and a prohibited waiver of the tenant's rights under ORS 90.245(1)(a).

What changed in Oregon rental law in 2026?

Three acts took effect on June 5, 2026 and none of them appears in the codified 2025 Edition of ORS chapter 90. Chapter 23, Oregon Laws 2026 requires a landlord to allow payment by check or other commercially reasonable methods, forbids requiring electronic payment or a tenant portal, forbids a late fee or termination where the landlord refused such a payment, sets tenant-portal application duties, rewrote the payment-processing pass-through in ORS 90.302(7)(d) and amended ORS 90.320(1)(m) so common-area access must include at least one means other than a portal. Chapter 61 bars a landlord from disclosing a tenant's confidential information, on pain of twice the monthly rent. Chapter 108 sets out what happens to a tenancy affected by a natural disaster. A fourth act, chapter 60, changes the smoking rules but does not take effect until January 1, 2027.

Can an Oregon landlord charge for carpet cleaning at move-out?

Only if all three conditions in ORS 90.300(7)(c)(A) are met: the cleaning is done with a machine specifically designed for cleaning or shampooing carpets, rather than an ordinary vacuum; the carpet was cleaned or replaced after the previous tenancy or the most recent significant use and before this tenant took possession; and the written rental agreement provides that the landlord may deduct the cost regardless of whether the tenant cleans the carpet first. Miss the lease clause and the deduction is unavailable.

Is retaliation covered by ORS 90.449 or ORS 90.385?

ORS 90.385. Its own title is retaliatory conduct by landlord, and it covers a good-faith complaint to the landlord or a government agency, joining or organizing a tenants union, testifying against the landlord, successfully defending a possession action within the previous six months, operating a family child care home under ORS 90.358, and any other act asserting a tenant right. ORS 90.449 is a different section titled landlord discrimination against victim, protecting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, bias crimes and stalking. Several secondary sources mislabel the two.

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Free Oregon Residential Lease Agreement

Oregon residential lease agreement walk-through

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A configurable Oregon residential lease agreement that generates a signable multi-page PDF. Built to current Oregon law — the statewide rent cap and the way the maximum is actually set each September, the just-cause rule that arrives after the first year, and the three 2026 acts that are in force but not yet in the printed code.

Oregon ORS Chapter 90 Rent Cap + Just Cause Free PDF 2026 Edition

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Scope Oregon ~16 min read

An Oregon residential lease agreement is the written contract between a landlord and a residential tenant, governed by the Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act at ORS chapter 90, with the eviction procedure at ORS 105.100 to 105.168. Oregon is not an ordinary uniform-act state. It was the first state in the country to adopt statewide rent stabilisation and a statewide just-cause requirement, and it has amended chapter 90 in every session since. Two consequences follow for anyone drafting a lease here. First, the rent cap is not a number in the statute: ORS 90.324 sets a formula and tells the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to publish the maximum for the following year by September 30 each year — so a lease or a template that prints a percentage is wrong within twelve months. Second, the printed code is behind: oregonlegislature.gov serves chapter 90 as the 2025 Edition under a banner saying the 2026 session amended it, and three 2026 acts took effect on June 5, 2026 that appear in no codified section text yet. This page is built from the session laws as well as the code.

Oregon Lease Rules at a Glance

Security Deposit Maximum

None

Deposit Accounting & Return

31 Days

Rent Increase Notice

90 Days

Cause to End a Tenancy

After Year 1

The thing Oregon templates get wrong most often: the rent cap is quoted as “seven percent plus CPI”. That is only half of ORS 90.324(1)(b), which sets the maximum as the lesser of ten percent or seven percent plus CPI — and because seven plus CPI has run above ten, the ten percent ceiling is what has actually bound. The published figures were ten percent for 2025 and nine and one-half percent for 2026.

Five Oregon Rules That Catch Landlords Out

First, the rent cap is a published figure, not a lease term. ORS 90.324 makes the Department of Administrative Services calculate and publish it by September 30 for the following calendar year; the lease should point at the mechanism, not at a number. Second, after the first year of occupancy you cannot end a tenancy without a reason at all — ORS 90.427(3)(c) requires either a tenant cause or one of four qualifying landlord reasons, and a qualifying reason costs one month’s rent paid to the tenant at the time of the notice unless the landlord owns four or fewer units. Third, a fee that is not written into the lease cannot be charged: ORS 90.302(1) bans any beginning-of-tenancy fee for an anticipated expense and requires every fee to be described in the written rental agreement. Fourth, the smoking policy is a required term of the agreement itself under ORS 90.220(4) and ORS 479.305, and it is the single most commonly omitted item in an Oregon lease. Fifth, a twenty-four-hour entry notice does not give you a right to enter — under ORS 90.322(1)(f) the tenant may deny consent after receiving it, and then you may not.

How to Fill Out This Oregon Lease Agreement

The Seven-Step Oregon Sequence

1. Name the manager and the owner separately

ORS 90.305(1) requires two identifications, not one: the person authorized to manage the premises, and an owner or a person authorized to act for the owner for service of process and for receiving notices and demands. They are often the same person and often are not. A person who manages or signs the lease without disclosing them becomes an agent for service of process by operation of law.

2. Describe the premises and count the units

The unit count is load-bearing twice. At four or fewer dwelling units on the premises, ORS 90.310 requires the landlord to disclose any pending foreclosure, forfeiture or tax lien proceeding before the lease is executed. At five or more, ORS 90.318 may require a recycling notice at signing.

3. Set the term and record the two just-cause branches

After the first year of occupancy the no-cause route disappears. Two facts change what the lease must say: whether the landlord holds four or fewer residential dwelling units, which decides the relocation payment under ORS 90.427(6)(b); and whether the unit sits in an owner-occupied property of not more than two dwelling units, which unlocks the separate track in ORS 90.427(8).

4. Set rent and state the cap mechanism

ORS 90.323(2) forbids any increase during the first year, more than one increase in any twelve-month period, an increase after the first year on less than ninety days written notice, or an increase above the maximum ORS 90.324(1) sets. The generated lease states the formula, the publisher and the September deadline rather than freezing a percentage.

5. Choose the late charge form

ORS 90.260 allows nothing before the fourth day of the rental period, and then only a reasonable flat amount, a per-day amount capped at six percent of that flat amount, or five percent of the periodic rent for each five-day period. The lease has to specify the type, the amount and the dates or the charge is not available at all.

6. List the deposit and every fee

ORS 90.300(3) requires the written rental agreement to list any security deposit paid or required. ORS 90.302(1) goes further: a fee must be described in a written rental agreement, so a fee left off the page cannot be charged at all, and charging it anyway costs twice the tenant’s actual damages or three hundred dollars.

7. Check the disclosures, generate, and hand over a copy

The smoking policy, the flood plain notice, the manager and owner identification, any pending legal proceedings, the two utility disclosures, the fee schedule, the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide notices, the recycling notice, and, for housing built before 1978, the federal lead disclosure. No witnesses and no notary are needed. ORS 90.220(3) requires the landlord to give the tenant a copy of the written agreement and of every amendment.

Build Your Oregon Residential Lease Agreement

Complete the fields below to generate an Oregon residential lease agreement as a signable multi-page PDF. Every field you fill is written into the document — the utility allocations, the late-charge form, the just-cause branches, the nonpayment notice track and each disclosure you check — and the generated lease cites the controlling ORS section at each point. Before handing over keys, run proper tenant screening, remembering that Oregon regulates the screening stage heavily under ORS 90.295, ORS 90.303 and ORS 90.304. Pair the signed lease with an Oregon move-in / move-out checklist — Oregon has no statutory condition inspection, which is exactly why a private record matters here.

Oregon Residential Lease Agreement Builder

1. Parties

ORS 90.305 requires two identifications, not one: the person authorized to manage the premises, and an owner or a person authorized to act for the owner for service of process. A person who manages or signs the lease without disclosing them becomes an agent for service of process by operation of law.

Landlord (owner) full legal name

Landlord phone

Landlord address for notices